Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1887-02-16
''oN TRIAL. F"
STAND UP CHRISTIAN MEN AND
HEAR THE INDICTMENT.
THE LAWSUIT CHARGES YOU WITH
THE BREAKING OF A SOL
EMN CONTRACT.

| IHE BREAklNG VI "A OOl-
EMN CONTRACT.
1T CLAIMS DAMAGES AT YOUh
HANDS.
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.
AN ANGEL IN THE NUMBER.
SPEECHES OF THE ADVOCATES
DIR. TALMAGE's POWERFUL SERMON SUN
DAY, DEC. 10TH.
BROOKLYN, December 19-The Rev. T..
De Witt Talmage, DID,, preached to-day
in the Brooklyn Tabernacle on the subject:
con Trial. Taking for his text l. John
H., 2: "We have an advocate with the faith
er, Jesus Christ the righteous" He said
:, Standing in courtroom you say to your.
self, "At this bar crime has often been ar
raigned; at this witness stand the oath has
often been taken; at this Jurors bench the
verdict has been rendered; at this judges
desk sentence has been pronounced" But
1 have to tell you to-day of trial higher
than any oyer and terminer, or circuit, OF
supreme, or chancery. It is the trial Of
every Christian man for the life of his soul.
This trial is different from any other in the
fact that it is both civil and criminal. The
issues at stake are tremendous, and I shall
in my sermon show you, first, what are the
grounds of complaint; then who are the wit
nesses in the cause, and lastly, who are the
| advocates.
When a trial is called on, the first thing
is to have the Indictment read. Stand up,
then, y Christian man, and hear the indict-
ment of the court of high heaven against
thy soul! 1t is an Indictment of ten counts,
for thou hast directly or indirectly broken
all the ten commandments: You know how
it thundered on Sinai, and when God came
down how the mountain rocked, and the
smoke assembled as from smouldering fur
nace, and the darkness gathered thick, and
the loud deep trumpet uttered the words:
''The soul that sinneth, it shall de!'' Are
you guilty or not guilty? Do not put in a
negative plea too quick, for have to an
nounee that sail have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. There is none
that doeth good; no, not enc. Whososver
shall keep the whole law, yet offend in one
point, he is guilty of ALL" Do not, there
fore, be- too hasty in pronouncing yourself
not guilty.
| This lawsuit before us also charges you
with the breaking of solemn contract
Many time did we promise to be the
Lords. We got down on our knees and
said: sob, Lord, I am Thine now and for
ever r. Did you keep the promise? Have
you stood up to the contract? l go back to
your first communion. You remember it
as we'll as if it were yesterday. You know
how the vision of thu cross rose before you
| You rsmembsr how from the head and the
hands, and the side and the feet there came
bleeding forth these two words: "Remem-
Der meP' You rec IL how the cup of com
munion trembled in your hand when you
| first took it; and as in a sea shell you may
hear, or think you hear, the roaring of the
surf even after the shell has been taken
from the beach, so you lifted the cup of
! communion, and you heard in it the surg
ing of the great ocean of Saviour's agony;
| and you came forth from that ommunion
service with face shining as though you had
been on the Mount of TRANSPORTATION, and
the very air seemed tremulous with tie love
| of Jesus, and the woods, and the leaves, and
the grass, and the birds were brighter and
sweeter-voiced than ever before, ard you
said down in the very depths of your soul,
Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou
knOwest that | love Thee" Have YOU kept
the bargain, Oh, Christian man? Have You
not sometime faltered when you ought to
| have been true? Have you not been proud
| when you ought to have been humble p
Have you not played the coward when you
ought to have been the hero l charge it
upon you, and charge it upon myself-we
have broken the contract.
| Still further: this lawsuit claims damages
at your hands. The greatest slander on the
Christian religion is an inconsistent profess
sor. The Bible says religion is one thing;
we by cur inconsistency say religion is some
| other thing, and what is mors deplorab b: 9
about it is, that people can see faults in 9TH
ers while they cannot see any in themselves
If you shall at any time find some miserable
old gossip, with imperfe tions from the
crown of her head to the sole of her foot,
perfect blotch of sin herself, she will 90 tat
| tling, tattlipg, tattling all the years of her
life about the inconsistencies of others, hav.
| ing no idea that she is Inconsistent herself.
God save the world from the gossip, female
and male! | think the males are the worst .
Now, the chariot of Christ's salvation goes
| on through the world; but it is cur inconss-
tencies, my brethren, that block up the
wheels, while all aleng the line there
| ought to have been cat nothing but palm
branches, and the out should have been
fted: "Hosannalt IT, the son of David -
Now you have heard the indictment read.
Are you ready to plead guilty or not guilty?
Perhaps you are not ready yet to plead
Then the trial will go on. The witnesses
will be called, and we shall have the matter
decided. In the name of God now make
proclamation: ''Oyez! Oyezl Oyez! Whose
ever has anything to offer in this trial in
which God is the plaintiff and the Christian
soul the defendant, let him now step forth
ar,d nofx L. =.
The first witness that I call upon the
stand in behalf of the prosecution, is the
world-all critical and observant of Chris
tian character. You know that there are
people around you who perpetually banquet
on the frailtiss of Gods children. You
may know, if you have lived in the country,
that crow cares for nothing SO much as
carrion. There are those who imagine that
out of the faults Of Christians they can make
bridge of boats across the stream of death,
and they are going to try it; but, alas, for
the mistake! When they get amid stream
away will go the bridge and down will 60
their soul to perditon. o, World of the
greedy eye and the hard heart, come on the
stand now and testify in behalf of the pros
ecutien against this Christian soul on trial.
What do you know about this Christian
man? "Oh," says the World, II know a
great deal about him. He talks about put
| ting his treasures in heaven, but he is the
sharpest man in trade l ever knew. He
| seems TO want us to believe that he is child
OF God, but he is just full of imperfections.
do not know but am a great deal better
than he is now. Ofentimes he is very
earthly, and he talks so little about Christ
and SO much about himself, am very glad
to testify that this is bad man.
| Stop, o World, with the greedy eye and
the hard heart. l fear you are toe much
interested in this trial to give impartial evi-
dence. Let all those who hear the testi-
mopy of this witness knsw that there is an
old family quarrel between these two par
ties. There always had been variance
between the World and the Church, and
while the World on the witness stand to-
day has told great deal of truth about this
Christian man. you must take it all with
some allowance, remembering that they
still keep the old grudge good. o World
of the greedy eye and the hard heart, that
will do. You may sit down.